This application claims benefit from provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/330,842 which was filed May 13, 2010.
A traditional style of feeder for presenting seed to wild birds is the hopper style. This feeder is usually rectangular with a gable roof to protect the bin containing the seed, and a pair of window sidewalls forming the front and back walls for the bin. These sidewalls form a slot at the bottom of the bin for the seed in the bin to spill out onto a tray. Birds stand along the edges of the tray and feed from the spilled seed that seeps below the sidewalls of the hopper into the tray.
It is usual for these two sidewalls to be made of transparent material, usually a rectangular panes of plastic. This permits the owner of the bird feeder to see from a distance whether the bin needs to be refilled with birdseed.
Another type of feeder available from Cedar Works includes a single transparent sidewall made of a polymer sheet. This sidewall has a single notch along one edge. This sidewall can be removed from the slots in which it normally rests, the slots extending along the edges of the lateral walls. These lateral walls are made of wood. The transparent sidewall is accessed through a hinged lid which normally overlies the upper edge of the sidewall. This sidewall can be removed and flipped over, placing the notch either along the top edge or bottom edge of the sidewall. When the notch is positioned at the upper edge of the sidewall this feeder is intended for squirrels only. The owner of the feeder can enjoy watching this squirrel lift the hinge lid and reach inside to feed on the corn or other seeds in the bin. Alternatively the sidewall can be placed so that the single slot is located at the bottom. In this condition the seed is able to spill out on to the flat trough in front of the sidewall, so that birds as well as squirrels can be feed simultaneously from the same supply of seeds.
However there are other styles of feeders, for example tube style feeders that are intended to feed birds only. Among such tube feeders are feeders with very small restricted feed ports sized to permit small birds such as finches to access thistle seeds, apparently one of such small bird's favorite foods. Other feeders have a substantially larger port for feeding larger seeds to larger species of birds. There are also tube type feeders with adjustable or two position feeder ports. These feeders have rotating or sliding shutter that changes the size of the seed port from that appropriate for feeding the small thistle seeds, or alternatively the shutter is moved to expose or create a larger port for the passage of large seeds.